Types of anime - Part I

A brief explanation of the various types of anime that are produced.

Anime can be split up in many genres, but there two main ones.

• Shounen
• Shoujo

Shounen is the literal translation for 'boy', and this type of anime contains, but is not exclusive to, these elements:

• Martial arts
• Sword fighting
• Gunfighting
• Mecha (a robot or machine that can be operated by someone either inside it or remotely)
• Transformations of some kind
• Space battles
• Advanced technology
• Fantasy / Occult

This is just the start, I could go on but then I feel it's better to deal with the main ones first. A large proportion of these anime have some male person as a lead, who wishes to become or achieve something in his life. The anime then follows his journey to this goal, meeting friends, enemies, and many other things that could affect his travels, such as the examples on the next page.